Hey guys! Flawed again here with another DoT update. I wanna apologize for this chapter's length. I have written a bit further than this but the scene change, and more importantly, the mood change clashes significantly with the general feel I wanted to achieve with this chapter so I decided to cut it short rather than either one, ruin the feel, or two, force myself to add unnecessary details just to get the world count up there. I think the chapter turned out decent enough. Still though, this chapter was pretty hard to write as I was trying to set a foundation to the bond each of the character on team ABYS currently have with each other. I was kind of forced to add a Cinder scene because I felt uncomfortable cutting in a short time skip from evening to morning with nothing but a horizontal divider line. I hope it didn't ruin the chapter.

Anyway, as a guy (not sure if this is a decent excuse) I'm not too sure how well I can convey emotions and emotional scenes so this is partly practice for that as well and would hope to receive some feedback on how well (or how horribly) I did and what I could do to make the scenes more heartfelt and more believable without making it cringe worthy. I'm still new to this and want to use this story not only as a way to give you guys something interesting and enjoyable to read (I hope at least that it's getting the job somewhat done.) but also as a way to practice and learn and improve my writing so I can better convey my thoughts and ideas in the future.

Another important thing, I don't have each scene set in stone and some details might clash with one another (main plot is solid of course I mean more little things like order in which they are sitting or colors of some stuff). I might fail to remember these tiny things in perfect detail and I might describe them wrongly in following scenes and if its not too much of a bother I would greatly appreciate someone just pointing them out so I can correct them.

we've hit 104 Faves and 166 Follows as of the posting of this chapter and I extremely grateful to you all! I did not think it would blow up like this when I first started and am extremely honored to have caught you guy's attention with my little story.

here are another few shoutouts:

Yoh Narukami – thanks for your reviews. I really took them to heart and have tried to change my writing style appropriately. These are the type of comments that motivate me to improve and try to get things better in succeeding chapters. I tried to convey more emotions, hopefully there are more believable than they were in the previous chapters. I made sure my paragraphs were not too large and tried to keep a good balance. I'll try to address their relationship with their old friends in the next chapters. I can see what you mean with the potential of certain scenes not used to the fullest (Pyrrha showing up and the Nevermore fight) I'll do my best to add to the tension and action in future scene such as those and try to give the readers a sense of excitement while reading (if I can somehow pull that off). Once again thanks for the review and I hope I met your standards at least to an extent.

TheNiemand/SweetieSpike/Warhawk'42/Fayari/Cabbage cabrera/desdelor97 – thanks for the interest in the story and the kind words. I hope continue to manage to write stuff you enjoy.

Lordofthenight97 – I'm sorry that you feel that way. I just don't find crocea mors very practical. I'll try to make the reveal of his new swords as hype as I can tho and I hope I can still keep your interest in the story.

Dragoon109 – I see what you mean and I hope I successfully managed to address that issue in this chapter.

Thanks for the interest and the comments guys

Final pre-chapter words: now that character short was awesome! I'm really hyped for volume 4 now and can't wait to see how Miles and Kerry will lead the show into the future, of course following the path Monty paved for the series. I like the look and feel that Maya gives off when compared to Poser and I'm looking forward to see more of the style as well as more of the story.

Anyway, without further ado, chapter 4!

Chapter Start

"So, Ruby and I just basically swapped." Jaune whispered to Weiss as he lay sideways over his previously neat covers.

The heiress kept quiet as she sat, facing him, atop her own bed. The pair was alone for the moment. Blake was currently taking a shower in the bathroom and Yang was across the hall returning an odd, round pillow to Ruby.

"I feel kind of bad for splitting Ruby and Yang up." the blonde added, bringing his arm up to cover his eyes. It was late in the afternoon now with initiation, the accompanying ceremony and another meeting with the headmaster have taken up most of the day. The darker orange hued rays of sunlight were flitting through the large window situated right between Weiss and Yang's beds in the center of the back wall. The sole window in their dorm room.

It was peaceful, much more peaceful than he ever remembered it being.

He let out a long, drawn out breath as he felt the bed shift slightly. He lowered his arm down to rest it on his stomach and gazed up at Weiss who now sat beside him and was giving him a small smile. The little fencer reached down to move a few bangs out of his face, the soft pads of her finger grazing his forehead.

Jaune grasped her digits lightly in his own and rubbed his thumb on the tips. He smirked slightly.

"I don't quite recall you're fingers being so free of callouses." he regarded the pale skin. He paused slightly, just staring. "Such innocent hands."

"You're one to talk."

"Hey, I did a lot of chores back home." he raised his own hand to her face. "Lifting in particular. As one of only two men in the family, if there was something heavy to carry, its usually dropped on my back." he added, his knuckles grazing her cheek.

"Much like a pack mule." Weiss shot back, an amused glint in her eyes as she leaned in slightly into his touch.

Jaune frowned at the comparison. He lowered his lids and let out another sigh. "Yes, much like a pack mule."

The pair's attention was drawn by the click of the bathroom door opening. A freshly showered Blake stepped out, her hands buried in a large towel as she dried the lower half of her hair. Despite this, her stubborn black bow was still perched atop her head. She came to an abrupt stop as she regarded the duo in front of her.

"Umm. Am I interrupting something?" she asked slowly.

Jaune moved to sit up and lowered his hand down unto the bed. "Not at all. So Blake," he called her testingly, as if speaking her name for the first time. "how do you like Beacon so far?"

The Blonde knight saw the slight suspicion in her eyes as she slowly made her way to her own bed. She sat down and picked up a brush from her nightstand.

"It's nice, I hear they have a large library." she replied as she started to comb through the low hanging strands of hair.

The young knight could only smirk at that. 'Typical Blake.'

The members of team ABYS haven't had the time to unpack yet and the small pile of their luggage was stashed away in the corner of the room, most of which were silver cases owned by the resident heiress.

Silenced descended into the room. Jaune returned to his earlier position of laying down on his bed and Weiss got up and moved to one of her suitcases.

The locks clicked open and the lid was lifted. The heiress rummaged through her luggage in search of her sleepwear, a plain white nightgown. Zipping open a few more smaller compartments, she pulled out a bottle of shampoo, a tube of toothpaste and her light blue toothbrush. A few more bottles of soaps and conditioners were stashed away in the side pockets but Weiss ignored these.

She made her way to the now unoccupied bathroom. Weiss was all too familiar with the massive amount of time Yang would take and more importantly her tendency to cut ahead whenever it suits her, so the white haired girl saw it fit to get in there, get cleaned up and dressed before the brawler returned from her trip across the hall.

Weiss peeled off the layers of clothing, setting them aside into one of the laundry baskets to the left of the sink, behind the door. A bit of steam from Blake's earlier shower still lingered and a few droplets of water clung to the curtains by the tub.

The dorm room bathrooms were rather medium in size shaped much like an 'L'. A bath tub that doubled as a shower with beige curtains was positioned at the very end, a sink and a decently sized mirror to the rooms left, the door was right at the back and the all important toilet to the left.

Weiss let out a sigh as she looked at herself in the mirror. It was an odd sight for her, her face much the same but noticeably younger. Her right arm made of flesh and bone, instead metal and plastic. She let her eyes trail over her nude body, free from the scars and burns she had collected over the years.

Her skin was pristine and unmarred, she tilted her head to the left to look at the pale skin of her neck and shoulder. She lifted her hands and rubbed her thumb against the tips of her fingers. Jaune was right, 'such innocent hands'. But it was more than that. Her entire body was free from the horrors of war, innocent.

Even a day after, everything still felt surreal. Like a massive dream. She ran her palm across the mirror to wipe away the condensed moisture that stuck it its surface to meet her own eyes through the now cleared part of the glass and finally found some familiarity. Her eyes were the same. Her flesh might not remember the wounds nor the pain, but her eyes, the portal to her very soul, remembered everything.

The heiress broke eye contact with herself as she stepped over to the tub to start her shower, one she desperately needed.

As the steaming water made contact with her skin, she let her thoughts wander to the events that have come to pass, ones are are still to come, as well as the alterations they have made to the flow of time.

She leaned one hand against the white tiles of the wall right beneath the shower and bowed her head. She could feel her muscles relaxing from the heat.

Weiss was slightly frustrated by professor Ozpin earlier. Jaune and herself had another talk with him right after the ceremony and despite the heiress' instance that something be done, the headmaster was adamant about waiting and preparing. Granted, she wouldn't want them to act out like general Ironwood would have, with guns blazing in a testosterone filled display of military power, but she still expected the Beacon headmaster to react more actively. Send out squads to investigate known enemy hideouts, or look for known collaborators, something.

Their situation allowed for a massive advantage of information yet professor Ozpin did not wish to act on it and Weiss couldn't understand why. she'd have argued more if it weren't for her partner stopping her. It surprised the heiress even more when she looked over the blonde knight and saw him nod his head purposefully in agreement. The look in his eyes, she saw it several times before.

From what she had learned from the general, as well as from professor Goodwitch upon her introduction to the brotherhood, was that Ozpin was apparently a very wise and strategic man, showing a sense of tactical cunning, planning several moves ahead to a point where his actions would not make sense to most. She would most likely doubted such a thing if it were not for the very same trait clearly on display in the actions of her own partner several times in the span of their involvement with the inner circle.

Her thoughts wandered to the blonde knight. 'The Grand Tactician' people had called him. Most were doubtful at first, hostile even, as a younger man was granted authority to coordinate groups of older and more experienced huntsmen and huntresses. It didn't help that some of Jaune's orders did not make any sense. The oddest locations to plant explosives, the stationing of the men in awkward formations, what seemed to most as a nonsensical and purposeful destruction of terrain, and more, all to prep the battlefield for the most ideal conditions against hoards of grimm, conditions that no one but him had even thought about. But as the chips fell into place, as one thing led to the next and the limited number of men under his command won one battle after another against terrible odds with efficiency and decisiveness, it didn't take long for him to earn the trust and the respect of the people who served under him. It also helped that Jaune was in the middle of every battle, leading the charge and displaying both his intellect and his strength on the battlefield. Indeed how far he had come from the mess he was during their first year at Beacon.

It didn't take long for Yang to return to the ABYS room, still yelling over her should as she walked across the hall before entering her own dorm.

"Hello, new teammates." she called out, dragging out the 'o' as she shut the door behind her. She had mixed feelings about not being on the same team as her younger sister. On one hand, she was saddened a bit by it, not that she's very far with their dorms just across the hall from one another but even so, the blonde brawler somehow wished she were there to keep an eye on her. On the other hand, she was happy for her, this way she could make some friends on her own, without her having to act as mediator. She shifted her eyes to and fro between the other two occupants of the room before the sound of running water caught her attention.

"Weiss is taking a shower." her team leader spoke up as he noticed her gaze on to bathroom door.

"So its occupied huh?" she sighed. "Does she take long?" she asked curiously.

"Depends on her mood to be honest." the blonde knight replied. "I think she'll be there for a while."

Yang pouted slightly before walking further into the room and plopping down on her bed, the third one from the left.

Blake set her brush back down onto her nightstand as she picked up the dark blue book beside it and propped herself up against the wall at the head of her bed. The mysterious girl then proceeded to flip open her book, pull out the bookmark and began to read in silence.

The team came together in their dorm earlier and agreed about the bed placements. Her leader to the very left, then Weisscream, then herself, then her partner Blake. With the window situated between Weiss and Yang's beds.

"So that was quite the thing you guys pulled off against that oversized scorpion." She said, trying to start a conversation with her new teammates.

Honestly, the pair intrigued her. They were most certainly skilled and must have been working together long. Needless to say, what those two had done earlier left a not so subtle impression on not only her, but on everyone that was present.

The brawler turned her head, still lying on the bed, the look at her leader who was sprawled on top of his own mattress much like her. He was staring at the ceiling but that didn't stop her from seeing the small smirk that pulled on his lips. His expression turned neutral quickly enough, however.

"Weiss did most of the work." he replied.

"You stopped a charging deathstalker without even getting pushed back a single centimeter. To us it looked more like it slammed into a solid wall." she shot back as she propped herself up on one elbow.

"Semblances are a wonderful thing then, aren't they?"

"So that was your semblance? Creating walls?" she asked, a tinge of curiosity evident in her voice.

Her new team leader tilted his head back to look at her. Gravity pulling the strands of hair down giving her a clear look at his upside-down face. His smirk returned and she saw a spark of amusement in his clear blue eyes.

"Something like that." was his reply.

"What kind of a vague answer is that?" she grumbled in return.

He returned to his previous position of staring at the ceiling and shrugged his shoulders.

She turned to her dark haired partner and raised a brow at her questioningly, to which she merely raised her shoulders in a small shrug.

Despite reading for the entire duration of her little conversation with her fellow blonde, she still noticed how her mysterious partner would glance up once in a while to look at the sole male member of team ABYS. From the glimpses she caught of the bow wearing student, she seemed rather wary of him. Suspicious. Not that she could blame her. The display of skill and strength the other half of their team displayed was not something typical of students their age, not even the best of them should have been able to do what they did, and with such ease. And the way Jaune gave them orders during the fight against the nevermore, quick thinking, impressive tactics, and a voice the oozed authority. She was well aware that the white and golden pair we're not your typical trainees.

With that thought, Yang mimicked her leader's form on her own bed, spread eagle, as she waited for the white princess to finish with her shower.

Cinder Fall was not happy, not by a long shot. After their little incident with little red riding hood and that blonde huntress, Roman was able to steer them away from the city and back to the dark walls of their warehouse hideout without attracting any further attention. The call she receive upon arrival, however, was one that made her rather nervous.

Something had gone wrong. Her Queen sounded angry and exhausted, maybe in pain as well. And the orders she gave were quite odd, and very risky considering their lack of information. But she sounded adamant, and Cinder did not question her.

Now, a few days later, Cinder, along with Emerald and Mercury, was progressing their plans in Mistral.

Haven Academy was probably the easiest one to enter without suspicion. Their headmaster, who was indeed a very skilled fighter and someone who is frightening on the battlefield, was also old and rather gullible. A few members of the staff were sharp, but without access to the enrollment files as well as the personal background data, their infiltration should go smoothly. Then, they just play their cards right and join their 'fellow students' to the Vytal Festival Tournament being held in Vale with Beacon Academy as this year's hosts.

Beacon was of course the eventual target. Not only because of the huge populous as well as the massive viewer base for the Festival's Tournament, but also because of its central location as well as the 'other matter' that they still had to deal with.

The huntsman that interrupted their attack on the Fall Maiden was from Vale serving directly under Beacon's headmaster and Salem was confident that there would be where she was held. In their short conversation, she seemed even more sure now then ever.

Regardless, the tone of her Queen's voice made her incredibly uneasy.

The red lights of the clock on Jaune's nightstand showed a bright 06:00 as he was woken from his slumber. The early morning sun was already trying to breach the barrier that was their dorm room's window curtains.

He didn't get up right away, rather he just lay there, thinking.

His talk with the headmaster went about as well as he was expecting. Weiss demanded action but he knew that their situation was extremely delicate. Their biggest advantage was information. The fact that Salem was not aware that the two of them made it back to this point in time along with her put them in a very advantageous position. That is why they must not be hasty with their actions.

Minor deviations could not feasibly be avoided. Little changes here and there could easily be attributed to the butterfly effect but anything massively noticeable would place a lot of doubt to their situation. This allowed for one shot. One move to catch their enemy off guard.

Hiding their knowledge and skills indefinitely would of course be counter productive, but this key moment is an opportunity to deal significant damage and as such, Jaune agreed wholeheartedly with Ozpin. He just hoped they would not wait too long, to a point where the potential payoff would no longer be worth it.

That being said, all the pair could do now was prepare their teammates as best they could. They have a lot of potential and it is up to the two of them, the people who have seen that potential unlocked before, to guide them to once again help them grow into the huntsmen and huntresses they knew they could could be.

A click of a lock caught his attention as he glanced over at the bathroom door to see Weiss step out, already in her uniform, hair neatly tied to her favored side ponytail. She looked over at him as he swung his legs over the edge of his bed.

Jaune glanced over at the other two still occupied beds. Yang was sleeping spread eagle, her pillow on the floor and her blanket twisted and bundled together. Then he looked over at Blake, curled into a ball under her covers, only the top of her bow clad head peeking out from under the blanket.

The young Arc made his way to their shared closet and pulled out the school uniform they were given and whispering a quiet 'good morning' to his partner. He then walked over to the bathroom and lightly closed the door behind him.

As a guy, it didn't take Jaune very long to slip into his uniform, freshen up, brush his teeth and somewhat organize his hair and he soon stepped out into their dorm.

Weiss was at her desk going through her scroll. Most likely looking through news relating to the thefts in Vale.

"Hey." he called out in a low voice as to not wake up their two sleeping teammates.

Weiss glanced up at him questioningly.

"Wanna get some fresh air?" She gave him a small smile as she transformed her scroll into its more compact form and slid it into her pocket.

"Yeah, I'd like that."

The dorm building's corridors were empty at this time in the morning and the duo found themselves walking up the staircase to the very top floor. They stopped in front of a metal door that led to the flat roof of the building. Jaune turned the knob and walked into the fresh morning air.

The sun was already halfway over the horizon but the scenery painted by the bright orange rays of light was still a sight to behold.

The young knight led his partner to the edge of the rooftop and they plopped themselves down, legs dangling over the edge, shoulders rubbing against each other, their hands on their laps.

"This is where I first trained with Pyrrha." he spoke up. Weiss fingers twitched slightly at this.

"Yeah, I know."

Jaune glanced over at his partner noticing her ever so slight shift in mood.

He reached out and wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her closer, resting his cheek on the top of her head.

"Sorry, that wasn't what I meant." she looked up slowly to meet his eyes. "This doesn't change anything. I have many regrets, and I'm sure you have quite a few as well." he started, his arm around her tightening further. "But this isn't one of them. we're in a unique position to change things. To fix our regrets and to change the future for the better." he gave her a bright smile at this. "and I couldn't imagine saving the world with anyone else by my side." he finished as he kissed the top of her head.

Weiss was quiet for a while, absorbing the words he just said, before she too found herself with a big smile on her face.

"You know, you're really cheesy sometimes." she finally spoke up with some mirth in her voice.

"Shut up." he grumbled in return causing her to giggle slightly at him and both resumed looking at the rising sun, now almost all the way past the horizon.

"This is nice." the young heiress took a deep breath "You think we can do it? Stop her?"

"We almost did it before."

"That's just it. We almost did it before, do you think we'll get that lucky again? The last war was so close, a stoke of luck could have swung the favor in either direction."

"We'll do it." his voice was determined, and it somewhat eased her worries, like it usually did. "I want them to be happy, I want all of us to live happy lives. So I refuse to fail."

"It's not a matter of 'refusing to fail'. It's not that simple."

"Of course it isn't, no one said it'll be easy." he looked at her. "Do you trust me?"

At this, her gaze was drawn back to his own. The determination clearly on display in his dark blue eyes and there was no longer any doubt in her mind. "I do."

"And finally, Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc." their names got called by the headmaster and the pair made their way up onto the stage, their black cloaks fluttering slightly.

The proud Beacon Academy sigil was printed on the left breast pocket of the dark piece of cloth which was loosely draped over their shoulders, its sleeves long enough to hide most of their hands with only the tips of their fingers peeking out.

They finally made it to the top where they were greeted by headmaster Qrow and professor Goodwitch, both giving them small smiles. It was customary to have all members of a team come up on stage at the same time to receive their diplomas and by extension their Huntsman Licenses, but seeing as Ruby and Jaune were the only ones left of their old team, it was rather odd to see just two people standing in front of their mentor. Three was not that uncommon, but just two really was rather seldom.

Jaune, the leader, stepped up first, taking the rolled up piece of parchment from the deputy headmistress before shaking her hand.

"Congratulations Mr. Arc. You have come a long way. it's been a journey watching you grow." her expression saddened. "Send my deepest sympathies to miss Valkyrie." the blonde professor said.

Nora took Ren's death the worst, as one would imagine, and was deemed mentally unfit for combat, not that she'd wanted to after what had happened. The once proud Valkyrie was now an emotional mess, just staring out of her bedroom window with a pained expression. Jaune's family was kind enough to take her in and that is where she had been in the past few weeks since the incident. Both Ruby and Jaune thought family would do her some good. The Arc house was very warm and welcoming, and the young knight's seven sisters where doing what they could to help support her.

"Thank you professor." Jaune gave a polite nod before moving over to give Ruby space all the while taking a few more steps to reach the caped headmaster.

"Ah, Jaune," Qrow addressed him with his first name as he extended his hand for another handshake. "Congratulations. You've done well."

Qrow's grip was firm and the young knight felt the strength in the simple handshake. Jaune looked up to meet the headmaster's eyes. In them, he saw pride, but he also saw pain.

In the years after their return to Beacon, and with their team's involvement with Ozpin's inner circle, Qrow had become a close mentor to them, and all four of them have learned so much from him, especially Jaune.

The imposing man gave him a pat on the shoulder before releasing him to join his fellow graduates. Ruby took Jaune's place in front of her uncle.

"Congratulations, Red."

"Thanks, Uncle Qrow." she gave a forced smile.

It's been hard for all of them

The Huntsman license was uploaded to the Valean records the day before and the graduates were set to receive their confirmation on their scrolls by today or tomorrow. The electronic ID is all that they would need to gain access to most of the city's facilities when it came to official Huntsman business.

All the graduates lined up against the back wall of the auditorium's large stage. There were ten in total, two teams of four plus Ruby and Jaune.

The deep red backdrop complimented their black graduation robes quite well.

They should have been happier, but they weren't.

Chapter end.

Hope it was up to standard. As usual, lemme know your thoughts!